Textiles and Stuff 

This is a Victorian pocket for a watch, dating from the second half of the 19th Century. It is in bead work embroidery, the main background is brown velvet and the beads are in several colours, white, grey, gold and silver. The design is a very traditional one, a vine with grapes. The pocket is edged with a floral design and there is a looped fringe. The pocket is lined and backed with brown silk and has a loop at the top for hanging. The pocket is in very good condition for its age and the only damage I can find is some wear in the lining on the back. A lovely addition to a collection of beadwork.

This is a delightful example of an early 19th Century sampler, embroidered in silk on fine woollen fabric. Round the edge is a simple stylised border of flower buds and leaves and in the centre a verse “me ye knowing and discern, few where i may find a friend both firm and true who dares stand by me when in deep distress and then is love and friendship most express.” On each side of the poem is a conifer and below it is another border containing several motifs, some with a slightly Chinese look, especially the lion, one of the buildings and the flowering tree in an urn. There is also a man bearing a yoke and two buckets. Below this is the name of the young embroiderer, Emma Peake, “her work aged 9 years” with a flower spray each side. The sampler measures 14 inches/ 35.5 cms. by 13 inches/33 cms. The embroidery is bright and fresh without damage but there are some small holes in the fabric, one just under the building with the turrets on the left and two near Emma’s name near the bottom and a couple near the left hand border. There are also some tiny holes near the top. These can all be seen on the photographs, as I have photographed the sampler against a white background to make them visible. However all of these will not be apparent if the sampler is mounted on a fabric of a similar colour to the wool. This is a lovely example, typical of the late Regency period, which retains its original colour, and would make a lovely addition to a collection, or indeed a Christmas gift!

This is a antique Victorian banner dating from the 1870s, probably from a fire screen, which is beautifully worked in beads in shades of blue, black, grey and white against a background of red needlepoint. The design is a traditional floral one with a bouquet of oriental poppies in the centre and flowers at the sides resembling convolvulus intertwined with long thin leaves. The banner is edged with a red and white cord and there is a cord at the top to hang it, decorated with red and white tassels. The lower edge is fringed and the whole banner backed in rust coloured silk. The banner is quite large and measures 21 inches long, (excluding the fringe) and 17.5 inches wide. The banner is in very good condition for its age, but there are a few places where a few of the woollen stitches are missing, namely at the very top next to the cord, two very small areas on the right hand border and two tiny ones on the centre about 3 inches from the top. The lining has a few small holes as can be seen from the photos.